Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

Neil talks about teaching mature students in this episode. Many of Neils students are fully grown adults of three kinds, absolute novices, lifelong players and people that used to play but quit in order to pursue other priorities. What problems do they present and how can you overcome them?   KEY TAKEAWAYS The non players may think it’s all talent, but its all about skill and work at the end of the  day. They present with no learnt bad habits.  Current players appear frustrated and stuck on a plateau. Old techniques are holding them back. It usually relates to the fundamentals of technique. Former players usually approach you as an expert that can provide their teenage dream. They have engrained feelings of failure and frustration but they enter into the student role believing that things are possible. BEST MOMENTS ‘Each one of these groups has their own special set of problems and I see my job is to get them past their problem, their blockage and it really all boils down to how they think and what they believe.’  ‘So they end up struggling with self doubt and they ask themselves ‘is this as good as I’m gonna get? Is this a far as I can go?’ Or ‘What am I missing?’’ ‘I can usually read them so well they think I’m psychic. It’s taken decades of study, a lot of money and a lot of time invested in building that skill base.’ VALUABLE RESOURCES The Tutor Podcast  www.Neilcowmeadow.com ABOUT THE HOST Neil Cowmeadow is a maverick peripatetic guitar teacher from Telford with over 19 years’ experience in the business of helping people. Learn how to start, grow and love your business with Neil’s invaluable advice and tips without the buzzwords and BS! CONTACT METHOD [email protected]